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Entity has the ultimate guide to improving your listening skills.

At any given place where the masses gather, you are guaranteed to see distracted people. Families out at dinner are looking down at their phones, people at the airport are all trying to read their flight information and college lecture halls are flooded with students itching to get to their dorms.

It seems safe to say that everyone could benefit from improving their listening skills. When you’re engaged in conversation and you’re genuinely interested in what others have to say, it could improve your relationships, openness and general understanding of people.

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As Ernest Hemingway once said, “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” For those women looking to improve their listening skills, here are a few ways to start.

1 Recognize whether or not you have a listening problem.

A lot of people who have listening problems don’t realize that that’s the case. If you’re the partner or colleague who loves talking about your day, problems and thoughts, pause and think about whether or not you’re leaving room for others.

Patricia Thompson, author of “The Consummate Leader: a Holistic Guide to Inspiring Growth in Others…and in Yourself” asks, “Do people tell you you don’t listen? Even if the feedback is from your significant other, and you are prone to dismiss it, at least consider the possibility that this quality may manifest itself at work as well.”

Denying that you’re a bad listener isn’t going to help anyone. If anything, it’s just going to encourage you to keep talking.

2 Keep an open mind.

When you’re trying to be a better friend, daughter or partner, make sure you’re in the right mindset to listen. Psych Central reminds, “Check in with your own internal feelings, assumptions and mindset. Ask yourself if you are really ready to listen.”

If you’re talking about a sensitive topic, for instance, you’ll be more equipped to listen to what the other person has to say if you’re not entering the conversation with a preconceived judgement. Always make sure you keep an open mind and listen to what the other person has to say. When you take the time to understand a different point of view, you might be surprised by how your initial position changes.

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3 Repeat back what you heard.

To confirm that you got the message clearly, paraphrase what the other person has said. Psych Central says, “Listen, and then relay it back to the speaker to clarify if you have understood them correctly.” Repeating what the other person has said not only validates the fact that you’re listening, it also helps you clarify anything you may be confused about.

4 Maintain eye contact.

Researchers at Cornell University digitally manipulated the eyes of the rabbit on several different Trix cereal boxes and asked a group of adults to choose one. They discovered that the box most frequently chosen was the one on which the rabbit’s gaze was fixated on them rather than away. Though this seems like a strange example, the same can be said of human beings.

We have a fundamental need to be seen and heard in order to feel important. When you maintain eye contact, you show engagement. It shows an attempt to empathize. “People’s eyes often tell us how they feel about what they are saying,” Patricia Thompson says (via the Network Journal). “You get the benefit of the emotion and commitment behind their words.”

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With the right mindset and actions, listening to someone can be very rewarding, making for more dynamic conversations and more wholesome friendships.

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